Romney Specifies Deductions He'd Cut

By

Sara Murray

Updated April 15, 2012 11:14 p.m. ET

PALM BEACH, Fla.—Mitt Romney, speaking at a private fundraising event on Sunday, offered the first details of deductions he would eliminate or limit in order to offset the income tax cut he has proposed for all taxpayers.

ENLARGE

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, shown last week, offered the first details Sunday of tax deductions he would eliminate.
European Pressphoto Agency

Mr. Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, said he would eliminate or limit for high-earners the mortgage interest deduction for second homes, and likely would do the same for the state income tax deduction and state property tax deduction.

He also said he would look to the Department of Education and the Department of Housing and Urban Development for budget cuts.

Mr. Romney discussed his plans while speaking to high-dollar donors at a private estate. During the backyard event, which could be heard by reporters outside on a public sidewalk, Mr. Romney offered policy specifics he has yet to unveil on the campaign trail.

Mr. Romney has pledged a 20% cut to income tax rates for taxpayers in all income brackets but has offered few details for how he would pay for the proposal. Mr. Romney also has vowed to bring federal spending under control, while offering few details on which programs he would cut.

President Barack Obama recently criticized Republicans on the point, saying they hadn't specified which programs they would pare back.

"I'm going to probably eliminate for high-income people the second-home mortgage deduction," Mr. Romney told supporters at the event Sunday. His plans could allow him to keep the same level of tax revenue but to lower rates, which he said would allow small businesses to keep a larger share of their earnings and expand their payrolls.

Mr. Romney previously has said he would cut or limit deductions for high-earners but hadn't offered specifics. Some previously announced elements of his tax plan target their benefits to middle-income people, such as his proposal to eliminate capital gains taxes for taxpayers with adjusted gross income of less than $200,000 a year.

On Sunday, Mr. Romney said he would look to the education department and HUD for potential cuts. "That might not be around later," Mr. Romney said of HUD.

Mr. Romney said he would either consolidate the education department with another agency or make it "a heck of a lot smaller." "I'm not going to get rid of it entirely," he said.

He also vowed to stand up to teachers unions and warned that unions would funnel dues to Mr. Obama's reelection campaign. "The unions will put in hundreds of millions of dollars," Mr. Romney said. "There's nothing like it on our side," he said, and he encouraged attendees to get their friends to donate, as well.

Election 2012

Mr. Romney summarized his general election message as "jobs and kids," saying he would make the argument that he is best-equipped to get the economy going and rein in federal debt, ensuring that the nation is better off for the next generation.

He homed in on the issue of fairness as he offered a retort to Mr. Obama. The president has encouraged Congress to support the so-called "Buffett Rule," a minimum 30% tax on people earning $1 million or more, arguing that higher-income Americans have benefitted most in the recent economy and that passage of the rule is a matter of fairness.

"I hope we get to talk about fairness," a revved-up Mr. Romney said. "Is it very fair for government to pick winners and losers?" On the campaign trail, Mr. Romney regularly cites Solyndra, a solar panel-manufacturer that received government funds and subsequently went bankrupt, as an example of government manipulation of the private sector.

Mr. Romney was frank in both his policy prescriptions and his obstacles as he addressed donors. He said he expected Mr. Obama to use the immigration issue against him as both sides of the aisle pursue Hispanic voters, a key demographic group in 2012. Mr. Romney said he and other Republicans will have to make the case that they are the party of "opportunity."

He said the GOP will have to propose its own initiatives to win support from Hispanic voters, such as a Republican version of the Dream Act. As offered by Democrats, the act offers a path to permanent residency for those illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. as minors and serve in the military or earn a college degree.

"We're going to be able to get Hispanic voters," Mr. Romney said. "We're going to overcome the issue of immigration."

The candidate said he didn't expect a fair fight in the media, saying he believed many commentators on television were liberals. He also said CNN reporter and host Wolf Blitzer was a good interviewer, and said Fox News had been good to him. Fox News is owned by News Corp., which also owns The Wall Street Journal.

"Fox is watched by the true believers," Mr. Romney said. "We need to get the independents and the women."

Mr. Romney said his campaign would rely on "earned media"—or making news the traditional way. He said he would be helped along by a team of surrogates as well as by initiatives on the Internet and Twitter.

Ann Romney, the candidate's wife, who turns 63 years old on Monday, attended the event and offered her take on recent criticism she faced for saying she understood women's economic anxieties while staying out of the workforce and being a stay-at-home mom. The resulting media coverage allowed the Romney campaign to put on display what it views as one of its greatest assets—Mrs. Romney.

"It was my early birthday present for someone to be critical of me as a mother," she said. "That was a really defining moment, and I loved it."

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